Surely, it is so, the genuine
Attractiveness and
Splendor of Kalamaʻula

There in the bower
We arrive and behold the beauty and
Splendor of Kalamaʻula
(Emma Dudoit, 1922)

In a moʻolelo recounted by Fornander, Maniniholokuaua, known for his ‘great strength and fleetness,’ lived in Kaunakakai, while his moʻo grandmother, Kalamaʻula, lived in the neighboring ahupua‘a, with which she shared the name.

When the fastest runner of O‘ahu, Keliimalolo, arrived on the beach of Kaunakakai, he was warned of the thief who would steal his canoe. Sure enough, Maniniholokuaua lifted the canoe onto his back and carried it to a cave, for which Keliimalolo could not find the opening.

After traveling to Kaua‘i in search of fast runners who would help him retrieve his canoe, Keliimalolo found Kamaakamikioi and Kamaakauluohia. Once again, as the canoe landed, Maniniholokuaua was there to steal it. Ignoring their warning to not take the canoe, Maniniholokuaua put it on his back and ran to his cave of treasures.

Ultimately, Kama‘akamikioi caught up with Maniniholokuaua, and as he demanded the cave to open, Kamaakamikioi ordered the cave to close, crushing Maniniholokuaua and the canoe. Inside the cave, Kalama‘ula was dead, and the Molokai residents entered the cave to retrieve all of their precious belongings stolen by Maniniholokuaua. (Keala Pono)

At the time of Kamehameha’s conquest of the Islands, Kalola was the highest tabu chiefess on Maui; she was sister of the King Kahekili and an aunt of Kalanikūpule. Kalola lived with two brothers, Kalaniʻōpuʻu and Keōua, both Hawai’i island niʻaupiʻo (very high rank) chiefs.

From Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the older brother, she had a son, Kalanikauikeaouli Kiwalaʻo (Kiwalaʻo.) From Keōua, the younger brother, she had a daughter, Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha.

The children, Kiwalaʻo and Kekuʻiapoiwa, had the same mother, different fathers, offspring of a naha union (brother-sister mating of niʻaupiʻo chiefs.) These two lived together, and Keōpūolani was born to them, also the offspring of a naha union. (Mookini)

When Maui Island was conquered by Kamehameha – Kalanikūpule (Kahekili’s eldest son and heir-apparent) and some others (including Kalola and her family) escaped over the mountain at the back of the valley and made their way to Molokai and Oʻahu.

On the island of Molokai at Kalamaʻula, Kalola became ill and they could not carry out their original intention of going to Oʻahu to join Kahekili. Kamehameha followed Kalola to Molokai and asked Kalola for Keōpūolani (Kalola’s granddaughter) to be his queen.

Kalola, who was dying, agreed to give Kamehameha Keōpūolani and her mother Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha, if he would allow the girls to stay at her death bed until she passed. Kamehameha camped on Molokai until Kalola died, and returned to Kona with his high queen Keōpūolani.

Another story suggests the area was named for a stone … and a song was written (excerpts above) about the beauty of the area …“I was born In Kaka’ako on August 20, 1918, and I was the second youngest of the eight children in our family. My brother John was the youngest. My parents, Emma Kala and Marcellus Dudoit, moved to Kalamaʻula in 1922.”

“The Kalamaʻula stone was right in our driveway, but we didn‘t know it was a famous stone. My dad wanted to get rid of it. So John and I tried with a sledge hammer, but we couldn’t break it. Then we found out that it was the stone that Kalamaʻula was named for, so we left it where it was.”

“It has five natural veins in it, and the legend is that it’s the handprint of a young woman. My mother wrote the song Kalamaʻula about the beauty of the area and our home there. She died when I was five, so my sister, Hannah, later copyrighted the song on her behalf.” (Valentine Dudoit, September 22, 2000; Clark)

Kalama‘ula by Johnny Noble and his Hawaiians – Emma Bush vocals 1929

“In Kalama‘ula is a coconut grove that is said to have been planted by Kamehameha V, having about 1,000 trees covering an area of ten acres.”

“Molokai was the favorite rest resort of this monarch, who had an establishment on the beach which was reserved for sunbathing by the ali‘i at Kalama‘ula near Kaunakakai.”

“There was a fine spring there that ‘bubbled up through all eight-inch vent and ran as a stream to the shore. Along the banks of the stream sugar cane, bananas, and taro flourished. There were many shrimp in the spring.’”

“‘It is said that a woman’s shrimp-net was once washed away by a freshet down the valley above the spring. She found her net in the spring at Kalama‘ula, at least six miles from the place she had left it’.” (Handy)

The US Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act to provide lands for Hawaiians; in 1922, Kalamaʻula became the first Hawaiian homestead subdivision in the islands.

In 1907, McNeill & Libby started its first fruit cannery in Sunnyvale, California. It quickly became the largest employer with a predominantly female workforce.

In the early 1900s, it established a pineapple canning subsidiary in Hawaiʻi and began to advertise its canned produce using the ‘Libby’s’ brand name. Unlike the other bigger pineapple producers, Libby did not start in Central Oʻahu, it started in Windward O‘ahu.

Libby’s pineapple covered the southern portion of Kāne’ohe, what is now the Pali Golf Course, Hawaiian Memorial Park and the surrounding area. By 1923, it was evident that pineapple cultivation on the Windward area could not keep up with that in other O‘ahu areas.

Then, Libby began to grow pineapple on land leased from Molokaʻi Ranch; their activities were focused primarily in the Kaluakoʻi section of the island. Lacking facilities and housing, the plantation began building clusters of dwellings (“camps”) around Maunaloa.

By 1927, it started to grow into a small town – as pineapple production grew, so did the town. By the 1930s, more that 12 million cases of pineapple were being produced in Hawaiʻi every year; Libby accounted for 23 percent.

There were two main pineapple growers on Molokai, Libby, situated on the west side at Maunaloa and California Packing Corporation (later known as Del Monte) in Kualapuʻu in the central part of Molokaʻi.

Then steps in a fledgling Hawaiʻi company, also seeing expansion opportunities, and it was through shipment of Libby’s pineapple from Molokaʻi to Libby’s processing plant in Honolulu that Young Brothers expanded into the freight business.

In 1900, three brothers, William, Herbert and Jack, got into business along Honolulu’s waterfront. What started out working small, odd jobs running lines, delivering supplies and providing harbor tours ended up to be a company that has played an important role in the maritime community of the State.

In those days, there might be from five to twenty sailing ships off Sand Island. When a ship came in, the anchor line had to be run out to secure the ship; if the ship was coming to the dock, a line had to be carried to the pier.

In the early years of the company, the brothers carried supplies and sailors to ships at anchor outside the harbor, as well as run lines for anchoring or docking vessels. They also gave harbor tours and took paying passengers to participate in shark hunts.

Libby’s need to ship fruit from the growing area on Molokaʻi, to pineapple processing on Oʻahu created an opportunity for the brothers. The brothers, using their first wooden barges, YB1 and YB2, hauled pineapples from Libby’s wharf to Honolulu. “That’s how (Young Brothers) started the freight.” (Jack Young Jr)

Libby constructed paved roads, a warehouse and worker housing in Maunaloa. In addition, they dredged a harbor and built a wharf at Kolo on the south-west side of the Island (between what is now Hale O Lono and Kaunakakai.)

“A natural channel thru the coral reef was blown and dredged to give a minimal depth of nine feet with two hundred feet width. Spar buoys mark the outer and inner ends of this channel.”

“The wharf is a heavily built wooden structure, having a road constructed for heavy truck traffic between it and the plantation on the summit of Mauna Loa. The only buildings at Kolo are those of the construction camp.” (Dept of Commerce, 1925)

Back then, there was competition in hauling freight. “The Inter-Island Steam Navigation Co, established in 1883, own(ed) and operate(d) a fleet of first-class vessels engaged exclusively in the transportation of passengers and freight between ports on the islands of the Hawaiian group.” (Annual Report of the Governor, 1939)

Regular sailings of passenger vessels are maintained from Honolulu four times weekly to ports on the island of Hawaiʻi, four times weekly to Molokaʻi, twice weekly to Kauaʻi, three times weekly to Lānaʻi and daily, except Monday and Saturday, to ports on the island of Maui. Included in the fleet are 12 passenger and freight vessels.” (Report of the Governor, 1930)

During the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, Inter-Island Steam Navigation had the SS Haleakalā, Hualālai, Kilauea and Waiʻaleʻale. There were others that carried 12-passengers such as the SS Humuʻula, which was primarily a cattle boat. “(Inter-Island) would run their passenger ships and heave to off Kaunakakai. And it would be passengers and mail which just went (ashore) by boat.” (Jack Young Jr)

But those vessels had deeper drafts than the shallow barges and couldn’t service Kolo; “Kolo was a very shallow draft channel, and it was a privately owned port, owned entirely by Libby McNeil & Libby. They had bigger acreage on the west end. That was a shorter haul for them. But the bulk of Libby’s pineapples came from Maunaloa which was shipped out of Kolo.” (Jack Young Jr)

To handle the conditions there, Young Brothers had a special tender built, the ‘Kolo.’ “My father had the Kolo built for that. He had the propellers swung into the hull of the launch because of the shallow depth. … The tug had to remain off port.” (Jack Young Jr)

With expanded freight service to Molokaʻi (Kolo and Kaunakakai,) around 1929, Young Brothers initiated a practice of towing two barges with one tug and became known as tandem towing.

The system was pioneered because two barges were needed to serve Molokaʻi – they would drop one barge off at Kolo and then carry on to Kaunakakai; they’d pick up the Kolo barge on the way back to Honolulu.

Then, the 1946 tidal wave struck. “Libby would have to spend $1-million to restore it, and redredge it. And so instead of that they bought a fleet of trucks and hauled their fruit from Maunaloa to Kaunakakai. Everything went out of Kaunakakai, Libbys and (California Packing Corporation (later known as Del Monte.)) So Kolo was abandoned.” (Jack Young Jr)

The end of the pineapple era began in 1972 when Libby sold to Dole Corp and was finalized three years later when Dole closed its Maunaloa facility. The very last pineapple harvest took place in 1986. (West Molokai Association)

Young Brothers continues today. In 1999, Saltchuk Resources, Inc of Seattle, Washington, the parent company of Foss Maritime, acquired Young Brothers and selected assets of Hawaiian Tug & Barge. In 2013, Hawaiian Tug & Barge was rebranded and incorporated into the Foss Maritime fleet, while Young Brothers remains a wholly own subsidiary of Foss.

The youngest of the Young Brothers, “Captain Jack,” is my grandfather; several quotes in this piece include statements from my uncle, also known as Captain Jack.

The image shows remnants of the Kolo Wharf (Google Earth.) In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

“Morotoi is only two leagues and a half from Mowee to the West North West. The South Western coast, which was the only part near which we approached, is very low; but the land rises backward to considerable height; and, at the distance from which we saw it, appeared to be entirely without wood.”

“Its produce, we were told, consists chiefly of yams. It may, probably, have fresh water, and, on the South and West sides, the coast forms several bays that promise good shelter from the tradewinds. (King, Voyages of Cook, 1784)

Subsistence farming likely focused on coastal resources, as the region is too dry for wetland agriculture. Dryland agriculture, focusing on sweet potato cultivation, was likely practiced on the slopes. Cultivation of crops occurred in spring-fed areas.

The country … rises from the sea by an ascent, uninterrupted with chasms, hills or vallies, this uniform surface, on advancing to the westward, exhibited a gradual decrease in population; it discovered an uncultivated barren soil, and a tract of land that gave residence only to a few of the lower orders of the islanders, who resort to the shores for the purpose of taking fish, with which they abound.”

“Those so employed are obliged to fetch their fresh water from a great distance; none but which is brackish being attainable on the western parts of Morotoi (Molokai.) This information I had before gained from several chiefs at Mowee …”

“(Heading to the west end) …The country had the same dreary and barren appearance as that noticed on the south side, and I was informed it was equally destitute of water.”

“(We) proceeded to the bay at the west end of the island, for the purpose of seeing if, contrary to my former observations, it was commodious for the refitting of vessels, as it had been reported.” (Vancouver, 1798)

Vancouver must have seen Kaunakahakai (“resting (on) the beach” or “beach landing” (other explanations of the name include “to go along in the company of four” and “current of the sea”) – it’s an earlier name of what we now call ‘Kaunakakai,’) as it was a landing place for the fishing canoes which were attracted by the multitude of fish in the area. (McElroy)

When Kamehameha became a man he sailed with a great many people on one hundred canoes; the kind of sails used was mats braided round and flat. They landed at Kaunakahakai and lived there. The reason for this coming was because the king was fond of maika, that is, rolling a stone which was made round with flat sides. (Fornander)

He sent a friend to get stones from Kahekili (reportedly Kamehameha’s father) who was living on Oʻahu. Kahekili inquired: “What does the chief desire that he sent you to me?” Kikane answered: “I came to get the stone for a plaything for your child; we came together and he is now residing at Kaunakahakai, Molokai; he sent me to come to you.” (Fornander)

Kahekili again inquired: “What stone does he desire?” He replied: “The stone at the flap of the malo.” The meaning of this is that it was a peerless stone, and was carefully guarded.

Kahekili handed over the stones saying: “This, the stone called Hiupa, is not to be cast on the windy side, lest it be struck by the force of the wind and be unsteady in its rolling, for it is a light stone; it is to be cast on the calm side; but this, Kaikimakua, is to be cast on the windward side for it is a heavy stone. The names of these stones are Hiupa and Kaikimakua.” (Fornander)

As part of Kamehameha’s later conquest of the Islands, Kamehameha defeated (but did not kill) Kahekili’s son, Kalanikūpule, at the battle known as Kepaniwai (in ʻĪao Valley, Maui.) Kalanikūpule fled to Oʻahu; Kamehameha and his four “Kona Uncles” (Keʻeaumoku, Keaweaheulu, Kameʻeiamoku and Kamanawa) followed Kalola (Kahekili’s sister) to Molokai and landed at Kaunakakai.

Kalola, who was dying, agreed to give Kamehameha Keōpūolani and her mother Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha, if he would allow the girls to stay at her death bed until she passed. Kamehameha camped on Moloka’i until Kalola died, and returned to Kona with his high queen Keōpūolani (and later mother to Kings Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III.)

At Kalola’s death, “They wailed and chanted dirges, and some were put to sleep with the dead, and the chiefs tattooed themselves and knocked out their teeth. Kamehameha was also tattooed and had his eyeteeth knocked out, and the chiefs and commoners acted like madmen.” (Kamakau)

Kamehameha then formally took charge of and returned to Hawaiʻi with her daughter and granddaughter, not only as a sacred legacy from Kalola, but as a token of reconciliation and alliance between himself and the elder branch of the Keawe dynasty. (Kalākaua)

Back to Kaunakakai …

King Kamehameha V (Lot Kapuāiwa) sometimes spent his summers on Molokai at a home in Kaunakakai. The main street of Kaunakakai, Ala Mālama Avenue, was named after the king’s summer home.

“West of the approach to the Kaunakakai wharf is a built-up platform, the name of which is Ka Lae O Ka Manu, the point of the birds. On this site King Kamehameha V had a home, ‘Mālama’ which was still standing in 1908. “ (Cooke; Hart)

George P Cooke also noted a large bathing pool of King Kamehameha V (filled with dirt now) and a spring near that pool. Reservoirs were dug and the water was well suited for the growing crops; they pumped thousand gallons of water every 24 hours. (Nupepa-Hawaii, Hoku O Hawaii, April 6, 1922)

“The Reverend Isaac D. Iaea told me that there was a spit of sand beyond this platform where the plover used to settle in the evenings, hence the name, Ka Lae O Ka Manu.” (Cooke; Hart)

The beach in front of this site was used exclusively by the aliʻi for sun bathing. (McElroy) Kamehameha V’s property passed to Princess Ruth and later became part of Bishop Estate.

Historic use of Kaunakakai focused on agricultural interests: cattle, sugar and pineapple. In 1897, a group of Honolulu businessmen (including Judge Alfred S Hartwell, Alfred W Carter, and AD McClellan) purchased 70,000-acres from the trustees of the Bishop Estate and leased another 30,000-acres from the Hawaiian government. At that time, American Sugar Company began sugar cane production on the lands.

About 10 years later, the land was bought out by Charles M Cooke and under his son, George P Cooke, they raised cattle, planted sweet potato and wheat crops and produced honey. It became the second largest cattle ranch in Hawaiʻi and a major producer of beef.

In 1898, the American Sugar Company, a subsidiary of Moloka‘i Ranch, was formed and the coastal area was used extensively. The need to transport sugar and cattle prompted the construction of a wharf at Kaunakakai.

Construction of Kaunakakai Harbor began in 1899 with construction of a pier that extended about 1,300-feet seaward from the shore. At that time, a small landing on the end of the mole could accommodate two boats.

In 1921, this mole was extended another 700-feet from the shore. A narrow gauge railroad track, extending from the interior plantation lands ran to the end of the pier.

Soon after, sugar cane cultivation was abandoned when well water pumped upslope to the plantations was too saline and killed the cane. Between 1923 and 1985, several thousand acres were leased to Libby and Del Monte for pineapple cultivation.

During those years, pineapple was an economic mainstay for Molokaʻi; pineapples were shipped to their Honolulu cannery from Kaunakakai.

The town was made famous by R Alex Anderson’s song “The Cockeyed Mayor of Kaunakakai”, beginning an ongoing tradition of designating an honorary mayor for the town.

The 1935 song was in honor of actor Warner Baxter, the first honorary Mayor of Kaunakakai (also winner of the 2nd Academy Award for best actor for his role as The Cisco Kid in In Old Arizona, and later honorary Mayor of Malibu, CA;) he was followed by boxer Jim Balukevich as the wartime Cockeyed Mayor. (Congressional Record)

Kaunakakai is an ahupuaʻa in the Kona Moku (district) on the Island of Molokai. Kaunakakai is also the largest town and commercial center on the island of Molokai, with a population of 3,425, nearly half of the Island’s population (7,345.) (2010 Census)

The image shows a a portion of an 1882 map, noting Kaunakakai and the Kamehameha V (noted as “Ruth’s”) home. In addition, I have included other related images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook and Google+ pages.

A chief from east Molokaʻi and a few of his people boarded canoes and set off around the island. They found themselves on the southwest coast of Molokaʻi. They paddled up to some fishermen who had a large catch of opelu. Hungry, they began to eat.

As they were all eating with great satisfaction, another group of fishermen came by and cried: “Stop. Do not eat the opelu. This is the season of opelu kapu.” However, the visiting chief only had a kapu for eating turtle, so they continued eating.

The fishermen attacked the visiting chief and his men. Overpowered, they were brought before the kahuna. The visiting chief became very ill, and the only way to make things right was a human sacrifice to save the chief from death. One of his men offered himself as a sacrifice and the chief recovered.

The kahuna ordered a tree planted on the grave of the willing victim. The grave was on shore; when the tide was high, the waves would wash sand from the grave. Thus, in a very short time, the body would be exposed.

In respect and remembrance, the chief ordered his men to build a stone wall. The chief himself put the last stone on the wall, saying as he did so, “I call this place Pāpōhaku, ‘Stone Wall.’” (DLNR)

Today, the sandy beach is seen as the primary feature here (it’s over 2-miles long and 300-feet wide, the largest on the island and one of the largest in the Islands.) It lies between two headlands, Puʻu Koaʻe to the south and Puʻu o Kaiaka to the north.

The sand caught people’s attention.

First, folks looked to replenish eroding beaches by harvesting sand from one area and filled in at another (primarily at Waikīkī.) Reports from the 1920s and 1930s reveal that sand was brought to Waikīkī Beach, via ship and barge, from Manhattan Beach, California.

As the Manhattan Beach community was developing, it found that excess sand in the beach dunes and it was getting in the way of development there. At the same time, folks in Hawai‘i were in need for sand to cover the rock and coral beach at Waikīkī.

Later, Waikīkī’s sand was trucked from various points around Hawai‘i including O‘ahu’s North Shore – in particular, Waimea Bay Beach, a sand bar off the town of Kahuku and Pāpōhaku Beach on Moloka‘i.

Reportedly, before sand mining operations removed over 200,000 tons of sand at Waimea Bay to fill beaches in Waikīkī and elsewhere, there was so much sand that if you would have tried to jump off Pōhaku Lele, Jump Rock, you would have jumped about six feet down into the sand below.

Then came statehood, and the building boom of the following decades.

“Increased use of concrete by building contractors resulted in more output of sand required for blending with crushed basalt fines used in concrete aggregate. A substantial gain was noted in the use of coral dune sands from the north shores of Oʻahu Island. By yearend, Honolulu Construction & Draying Co Ltd (HC&D) was prepared to barge sand from Molokaʻi Island to supply some of Oahu’s requirements for the critical material.” (Minerals Yearbook, 1959)

(HC&D was formed in 1908 by a quarry owner, three construction men and a retired sea captain. The base of the business was the draying (hauling) of construction materials by horse-drawn wagons. In late-1967, HC&D became a wholly owned subsidiary of American Pipe and Construction Co of Monterey Park, California (now it’s known as Ameron Inc.))

In the 1950s, a harbor was dredged and a wharf constructed at Hale O Lono by B&C (Brown and Clewitt) Trucking to ship out sand from Pāpōhaku (B&C also owned Seaside Inn and Pau Hana Inn.) A 1957 contract between Molokaʻi Ranch and HC&D allowed for sand to be removed from a 297-acre southern parcel of Pāpōhaku Beach.

“Sand and gravel was produced at 16 principal beach, dune, and stream deposits. The largest operation was the Molokaʻi sand facility of HC&D Ltd, Hawaiʻi’s major producer, consumer, and supplier of sand, cinder, and crushed stone.” (Minerals Yearbook, 1964)

“Some of the land out on the western tip of the island is leased to Honolulu Construction and Draying Company Ltd, which mines something like 200,000-yards of sand a year from Pāpōhaku Beach for shipment to Oahu for use in making concrete.” (Away From It All)

“All day long, every day, had trucks going back and forth from Pāpōhaku to Hale O Lono.” From the early 1960s to 1975, this massive cache of sand was the site of the largest sand-mining operation in the state.

Some of the sand was drawn from below the high water mark, which was public land and required a government permit; at times the dredge bucket even drew the sand out of the ocean.

This was not legal and HC&D was caught and reportedly fined, resulting in a million-dollar settlement. In lieu of payment of the fine, reportedly, Molokaʻi Ranch gave the land at Ala Mālama in Kaunakakai.

Even with the decades of sand removal, Pāpōhaku Beach remains one of the longest white sand beaches, and the Pāpōhaku Dune system associated with the beach is among the largest in Islands.

Pāpōhaku Dune (like other sand dunes) is the first and last line of defense against coastal erosion and episodic high waves for the existing structures located behind it.

It used to be referred to as ʻĀina Momona (the bountiful land,) reflecting the great productivity of the island and its surrounding ocean.

It is about 38-miles long and 10-miles wide, an area of 260-square miles, making it the 5th largest of the main Hawaiian Islands (and the 27th largest island in the US.)

The island was formed by two volcanoes, East and West, emerging about 1.5-2-million years ago. The cliffs on the north-eastern part of the island are the result of subsidence and the “Wailua Slump” (a giant submarine landslide – about 25-miles long that tumbled about 120-miles offshore – about 1.4-million years ago.)

In separate volcanic activity about 300,000-years ago, Kalaupapa Peninsula was formed. Penguin Bank, to the west of the island, is believed to be a separate volcano that was once above the water, but submerged within the last 100,000-years.

Molokaʻi is divided into two moku (districts,) Koʻolau on the windward side and Kona on the leeward side. (These are common district names that are universally used across of the Hawaiian archipelago (“Koʻolau,” marking the windward sides of the islands, and “Kona,” the leeward sides of the islands.))

Archaeological evidence suggests that Molokaʻi’s East end was traditionally the home of the majority of early Hawaiians; large clusters of Hawaiians were living along the shore, on the lower slopes and in the larger valleys. Productive, well-kept fishponds were strung along the southern shoreline.

The water supply was ample; ʻauwai (irrigation ditches), taro loʻi (ponded terraces) and habitation sites were found in every wet valley. ʻUala (sweet potato) and wauke (paper mulberry) were cultivated in the mauka areas between long shallow stone terraces which swept across the lower kula slopes.

The windward valleys developed into areas of intensive irrigated taro cultivation and seasonal migrations took place to stock up on fish and precious salt for the rest of the year.

The drier coastal regions of the West end were sparsely populated on a year-round basis, although they were frequently visited for extended periods of fishing during the summer months. (Papohaku on the west shore is the longest stretch of white sand beach in Hawaiʻi (3-miles long and 300-feet wide.))

East end’s Pukoʻo had a natural break in the reef, good landing areas for canoes and nearby fishponds built out over the fringe reef. Archaeological evidence suggests it was a heavily populated area; it was also destined to become the first town in the western tradition on the island of Molokaʻi.

When the American Protestant missionaries arrived on Molokaʻi in 1832, they settled at nearby Kaluaʻaha. The first church was made of thatch (1833,) a school soon followed. By 1844, a stone church was built.

It was not long before a small community was forming around the church buildings. It became the social center of the entire island, with people coming from as far away as the windward valleys, over the pali and by canoe, just to attend church sermons on Sunday and socialize.

In the 1850s, Catholic priests began to visit the island; during the 1870s, Father Damien, who had come to Molokaʻi to serve the patients at Kalawao, traveled top-side to gather congregations of Catholics. He built four Catholic churches on the East End of Molokaʻi, at Kamaloʻo, Kaluaʻaha, Halawa and Kumimi.

In later years they built a wharf at Pukoʻo – it became the center of activity for the island and the first County seat. However, with economic opportunities forming on the central and west sides of the Island, Pukoʻo soon lost its appeal (there is no commercial activity there, today.)

Like Pukoʻo, Kaunakakai had a natural opening in the reef. In 1859, Kamehameha IV established a sheep ranch (Molokaʻi Ranch) and built his home, Malama, there. “It is a grass hut, skillfully thatched, having a lanai all around, with floors covered with real Hawaiian mats. The house has two big rooms. The parlor is well furnished, with glass cases containing books in the English language.”

“On the north west side of the house is a large grass house, and it seems to be the largest one seen to this time. The house is divided into rooms and appears to be a place in which to receive the king’s guests.” (SFCA)

Rudolph Wilhelm became manager of Moloka`i Ranch for Kamehameha V in 1864. However, Kamehameha V was probably best known on Molokaʻi for the establishment of the Leprosy Settlement on the isolated peninsula of Kalaupapa in 1865.

Meyer started to grow sugar shortly thereafter (1876.) By 1882, there were three small sugar plantations on Molokaʻi: Meyer’s at Kalaʻe, one at Kamaloʻo and another at Moanui.

Meyer also served as the Superintendent of the isolated Kalawao settlement (Kalaupapa) (serving with Father Damien and Mother Marianne Cope (now, both are Saints.))

Kaunakakai Harbor was an important transportation link and key to these various activities. After 1866, it became vital to bringing in supplies for the Kalaupapa Settlement. Goods, personnel and visitors were landed at Kaunakakai then transported by mule down the pali trail.

During the 1880s, sugar and molasses from the Meyer sugar mill were loaded onto carts and taken to the harbor where they were transferred into small boats. These boats came up to the sand beach and take the sugar and molasses to larger ships anchored in the harbor. By 1889 a small wharf had been built at Kaunakakai.

After Molokai Ranch was sold to the American Sugar Company in 1897 a new, more substantial stone mole with a wooden landing platform at the makai end, was put up next to the old wharf to service their expected sugar shipments.

Finally in 1909, a political division of the island was made incorporating Moloka`i into Maui County and excluding the State Health Department administered area of the Kalaupapa Settlement. This district became known as Kalawao County.

During the 1920s Kaunakakai first began to develop as the main business center of the island. Several stores were built along either side of Ala Malama Street indicating the sense of prosperity of the times. This activity continued well into the 1930s, a period that corresponded to the largest increase in population on Molokaʻi.

At that time and into the early-1930s, Kaunakakai gradually became the main hub of activity, partially due to its central location and increased population. It was here that a larger, improved wharf had been developed for the pineapple plantations and for the shipment of cattle.

Another major change occurred when the Government passed the Hawaiian Homes Act in 1921. Seventy-nine Hawaiian homesteading families moved to Kalamaʻula in 1922 and in 1924 the Hoʻolehua and Palaʻau areas were opened for homesteading on lands previously under lease from the government to the American Sugar Company Limited. The homestead population rose from an estimated 278 in 1924 to 1,400 by 1935.

In 1923, Libby, McNeil & Libby began to grow pineapple on land leased from Molokai Ranch; their activities were focused primarily in the Kaluakoʻi section of the island. Lacking facilities and housing, the plantation began building clusters of dwellings (“camps”) around Maunaloa. By 1927, it started to grow into a small town – as pineapple production grew, so did the town.

In 1927, California Packing Corporation, later known as Del Monte Corporation, leased lands of Naʻiwa and Kahanui owned by Molokaʻi Ranch to establish a pineapple plantation with headquarters in the town of Kualapuʻu. The town takes its name from kaʻuala puʻu, or the sweet potato hill, the hill to the south where sweet potatoes were grown on its slopes.

The town was first created when Molokaʻi Ranch (American Sugar Company) moved their ranch headquarters from Kaunakakai to Kualapuʻu after the demise of their sugar enterprise.

After the Hoʻolehua homesteads were opened up by Hawaiian Homes Commission in 1924, the ranch headquarters began to take on the character of a real town. However the real change came with the arrival of California Packing Corporation in Kualapuʻu to grow pineapple for shipment to the Oʻahu cannery.

In 1968, there were 16,800 acres of pineapple under cultivation on Moloka`i. The Libby plantation was sold to the Dole Pineapple Corporation in 1970, which very soon closed down the plantation when they determined it was no longer a profitable venture. After fifty-five years of operation, Del Monte began a phased shut down operation in 1982 which terminated in 1989.

Maunaloa and Kualapuʻu were towns created expressly for agriculture. Kaunakakai came into its own due to its harbor, central location, and the shift of population from the east end of the island. It gradually became the administrative and business center of Moloka`i, much as Pukoʻo had been many years before.

The image shows an 1897 map of Molokaʻi. (Lots of information here is from Curtis.)

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